Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton and the Year That Wasn’t

Oct. 14, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton plays for the Salt River Rafters during an Arizona Fall League game against the Surprise Saguaros at Salt River Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

I am not much of a morning person. Even a morning when nothing particularly goes wrong is no good in my book. I am shaken from my slumber by my alarm, my feet hit the freezing cold floor, I rush through my shower, wrangle the dog outside and speed to try to make it to work on time. Again, this is a “good” morning.

My bad mornings are awful. I sleep through my alarm, I stub my toe on the bed frame, there is no hot water in my building and I show up late for work. When I imagine having months’ worth of these mornings, I imagine that must be how Byron Buxton feels this year.

Despite everything, I am personally still not concerned about Buxton’s overall durability.

The presumed savior of our moribund franchise has had nothing but awful luck this season. Between wrist problems, a concussion after a horrific collision with a teammate and his jammed finger that was thought to be sprained but is in actuality fractured, he has been in the trainer’s room more than on the field this season.

Despite everything, I am personally still not concerned about Buxton’s overall durability. Very few baseball players, particularly outfielders, suffer this many contact injuries generally. The hope here is that this has just been a freak show of a season and given the winter off, Buxton will be able to hit the ground running in the spring, get his stroke back and make the Twins roster before the end of the season.

Buxton has been a perfect microcosm for this Twins team as a whole as of late. They have gone from losing in the ALCS, to losing in the ALDS, to getting swept out of the postseason multiple times all the way down to sweeping the AL Central cellar and their manager getting the ax. The team’s injury history has also been pretty horrendous the past decade. Justin Morneau’s concussion problems derailed his career, at least until he left the Twins. Joe Mauer has had a series of maladies, the most memorable being his confounding “bi-lateral leg weakness” and is now playing 1st Base because of his health. Even Buxton’s battery mate as a beacon of hope, Miguel Sano, needed Tommy John surgery before this past season started. That is a very common procedure, but nearly unheard of for a 3rd Baseman.

Call it hope or blind faith, but I do think the Twins tailspin will be coming to an end soon. If it does, it is most likely that Buxton leads them out of these doldrums. These awful mornings have lasted long enough.